Android 11 Developer Preview 4 Goes Live...

Today we get Android 11 Developer Preview Four... Previously, Google said there would only be three Android 11 Developer Preview releases but Google is making a few changes to the Android 11 release schedule, and that includes this unexpected additional developer preview. The next beta release has been moved to June 3rd, where it will be dropped as part of a new Beta Launch Show online event details for which Google published earlier today. All of the following betas on the original schedule have also been pushed back a month.

Google says that this new timeline is the result of challenges posed to developers as a result of current events. The extra month will give them more time before Android 11's changes reach the "platform stability" milestone, and an extra month for developers to get Android 11 apps ready for testing (developers should note: SDK and APIs for Android 11 are still set to be finalized in June).

Source: Google, Android Developer Blog

Google Rolling Out Wireless Stadia Support

Google announced that wireless Stadia Controller support is rolling out to the web this week. This means that gamers playing on laptops and desktops no longer need to connect via USB.

Starting this week, you can now use the Stadia Controller to play wirelessly on your laptop and desktop. You no longer need to connect your Stadia Controller physically to your computer to play your favorite games. You’ll be able to link your Stadia Controller and Stadia.com through your Wi-Fi network and play without a USB-C cable connection.

As of this morning’s Stadia announcement, wireless Controller support on the web is not yet rolled out with a “coming soon” message still appearing. Once available, turn on your device and visit Stadia to open the Controller menu in the top right corner. A linking code that you need to enter on your Controller will appear.

Source: Stadia

Android 11 Beta Arrives, June 3rd

 

Android 11 Developer Preview program showed that we would get several previews before a public beta release some time in May. Google has now revealed that the first Android 11 Beta will arrive in June with a special online presentation.

This is the replacement for Google I/O, which was canceled due to coronavirus. The new event is called “The Beta Launch Show” and will take place on June 3 at 8AM Pacific (11AM Eastern).

Source: Android Developers

Motorola Rejoins The Flagship Game Meet, The Motorola Edge+

Motorola is back in 2020 with the Motorola Edge+, a phone whose specs and price put it right next to Samsung in a battle for the top. With limited availability watching as Motorola tries to get their new phone in front of your eyeballs should be interesting.

The Motorola Edge+ is a $1,000 phone coming exclusively to Verizon in the US. It features a 6.7″ OLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and 1080p resolution, Snapdragon 865 processor, 12GB LPDDR5 RAM, 256GB UFS 3.0 storage, 5000mAh battery with fast wired (18W) and wireless (15W) charging, triple rear camera setup on the back, 3.5mm headphone jack, stereo speakers, fingerprint reader, Bluetooth 5.1, and Android 10.

The triple rear camera is made-up of 108MP main (binning to 27MP, f1.8, OIS), 16MP ultra-wide (f2.2, 117-degree FOV), and 8MP telephoto (f2.4, OIS) lenses. It can shoot up to 6K and 4K video at 30fps, as well as slow motion 1080p at 120fps. The front camera is a 25MP shooter.

This phone will be big on connectivity, with access to Verizon’s 5G mmW. When Verizon expand beyond mmW, the phone is sub-6GHz 5G ready and has WiFi 6 support for faster WiFi.

Link: Motorola’s store

Android 11 Developer Preview 3 Now Available

Google has released Android 11 Developer Preview 3 to supported Pixel devices, including the Google Pixel 2/2 XL, Google Pixel 3/3 XL, Google Pixel 3a/3a XL, and Google Pixel 4/4 XL. We still not to the beta stage, so you won’t just be able to easily enroll in this preview like you have been able to in the past. 

This should be the last preview build before the Android 11 beta in May.

Google says this update contains “bug fixes and a set of productivity improvements,” we are assuming this is the final preview before going into beta and opens up a wider audience. Flash if you dare...

How to install Android 11 Developer Preview 3

• Factory Image Files
• OTA Files
• Android Flash Tool Files

New Google Pixel Buds Now Available

The new Google Pixel Buds (2nd Gen) are now available. Google made the release official and the first reviews are starting to pop up.

At this time, only the Clearly White pair is available, though Google still shows that Almost Black, Quite Mint, and Oh So Orange are coming soon with a waitlist. It’ll appears to be months before others are available.

If you’d like a pair, you can order them for the following places:

• Verizon
• Google Store
• Best Buy
• B&H Photo
• Walmart

Samsung Shows Off Samsung Galaxy Z Flip During Oscars Commercial

Samsung is just a few days from its 2020 Unpacked event, and tonight during the Oscars we got an unexpected “spoiler.” 

Samsung officially confirmed the design and features of its unannounced Samsung Galaxy Z Flip in a brief ad during the Oscars. Without actually naming the device, an ad for Samsung shows off the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip in depth and teases the Unpacked event on February 11th. 


Source: Twitter

Byte, Is The New Vine

The Byte app is now available to everyone, both iOS and Android. Byte is a social network based on short video clips, with comment features similar to Instagram, and a "rebyte" feature similar to retweets on Twitter. 

Byte was founded by Dom Hofmann one of the original creators of Vine and is similar to Vine in many ways. (Vine was purchased by Twitter, and shut down 2016.) The Byte app includes a search/explore section that lets you explore content by category, such as animation, pets, fitness, music, comedy, travel, and experimental, as well as latest and most popular content. 

The camera section lets you string together multiple short clips at once, recorded from either the front or back camera, and/or include sections of previously-recorded video. An onion-skinning feature helps you visually align the start of a new clip with the last frame of the last clip.


Source: Google Play, Apple App Store

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Arrives August 7

The unveiling date has been set for Samsung’s upcoming Note 10 device, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. Samsung intends to announce the device on August 7 at 4PM Eastern in Brooklyn, NY. 

The invite, which teases new camera capabilities, shows the S Pen circling around a camera sensor and the link to the UNPACKED invite says that the launch will "take the Galaxy's connected ecosystem to the next level".


Source: Samsung

Dish Has Agreed To Buy Boost Mobile

Dish has reportedly struck a deal with T-Mobile, to divest some of its spectrum and Boost Mobile to the satellite provider Dish, in order for the Justice Department to approve of its merger with Sprint.

The Justice Department needs to sign off on this deal, before it can be approved and before the merger with Sprint can be approved. This report comes out of CNBC, who has a pretty good track record with telecommunications reports. 

The Justice Department still needs to decide on whether Dish would represent meaningful competition to T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T following the $26 billion merger between T-Mobile and Sprint.

Dish already has spectrum from different spectrum auctions over the past decade. If there is a company that could become a meaningful competitor to the existing wireless carriers, Dish would be the one in mind. T-Mobile and Sprint have already agreed to sell Boost Mobile to get this deal done, and the DOJ also wants it to sell some of its own spectrum.

T-Mobile wants to limit Dish's spectrum capacity to around 12.5 percent. Meanwhile, Deutsche Telekom wants to limit any strategic Dish investor to 5 percent.

This to make sure that T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom aren't spending $26 billion to be left in the same spot they are in now. In distant third place behind the top two US carriers. The whole reason for the two to merge was to be able to better compete with top carriers, both of which are nearly three times the size of T-Mobile now. The combined T-Mobile and Sprint, would still be smaller than the top US carriers.

The Justice Department has a few things that it wants done before it can approve this merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. One major caveat is to make a fourth, viable, wireless carrier. Which would be the point of selling spectrum to Dish as well as selling Boost Mobile. 

Dish being the perfect buyer, giving it has spectrum that it needs to start deploying, before the FCC starts fining Dish and has been wanting to get into the wireless industry for many years.


Source: CNBC